A Message from Jack Scatizzi, MTC’s Executive Director (Q1 CY24)

Highlighting Four Years as the Executive Director

February marks the four-year anniversary since I accepted the role as the Executive Director of MTC. The organization I was hired to lead and the organization I am currently leading share the same mission and focus, but they differ significantly in terms of operations and execution.

In February 2020, MTC had two staff members, one of whom, Amy Steinman, is still with the organization. Both staff members were state employees at that time. Presently, MTC has expanded its team to include seven staff members, and we are actively seeking candidates to fill two senior leadership positions (Grants Program Manager & Operations Manager).

Despite being established in 1983, I had the privilege of being the first direct employee of MTC. The board’s decision to hire me as a direct employee of the organization was the first step in a strategic plan to ensure the organization was operating independently of the Department of Economic Development, while still fulfilling our role as a public-private partnership. Furthermore, the board’s choice to conduct a nationwide search for an Executive Director guaranteed that the organization would be led by an individual with relevant expertise in early-stage investing and entrepreneurial ecosystem building.

When I was hired in early 2020, MTC’s current state appropriation was $3 million for FY20, and it was projected to decrease to $1 million for the upcoming fiscal year. However, for the past two fiscal years, FY23 & FY24, MTC received a generous state appropriation of approximately $16 million per year.  Encouragingly, the Governor has recommended an appropriation of $16 million for the upcoming fiscal year, FY25, starting July 1^st.

I would like to mention that shortly after I was hired, the pandemic caused the state to enter into an unprecedented financial crisis. As a result, the Governor’s Office requested that MTC return the funding we had received for the current fiscal year, and our funding for the next fiscal year was withheld until the state’s financial situation improved. This meant that MTC had to operate without state funding for nearly two years, relying solely on the returns from our direct investment activities (IDEA Fund) to sustain our financial support to the state’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

The great news is that thanks to the increased appropriations in recent years, MTC has been able to expand our programmatic activities by almost seven times for FY23. Furthermore, we anticipate maintaining a minimum five-fold increase in programmatic activities for FY24 and FY25 (subject to approval of the Governor’s funding recommendation), compared to when I joined MTC merely four years ago.

Notes

• FY24 ends June 30th, 2024, thus MTC has not finished all of its programmatic activities that are intended to be funded through our FY24 appropriation.
• The state appropriation cited does not account for one-time appropriations that are specifically allocated for special programs.
• A considerable portion of MTC’s FY23 appropriation was not received until FY24, and it was specifically designated by the General Assembly to be utilized for future programmatic activities.
• After the introduction of the Physical Infrastructure Grant Program, MTC sunset direct funding to the Innovation Centers by the end of FY23.

I believe that the organization’s increase in state funding, coupled with our remarkable expansion of programmatic activities in recent years, can be directly attributed to the statewide strategic initiative we embarked upon. The initiative resulted in the release of the Catalyzing Innovation Report in 2022, which presents ambitious strategies and recommendations for Missouri to become a frontrunner in innovation and entrepreneurship compared to our peer states. MTC is utilizing this report to establish the course for policies, programs, and initiatives that foster and support the continued growth of entrepreneurs and the advancement of innovation and technology throughout the State of Missouri.

Furthermore, every fall, MTC publishes a yearly Implementation Plan outlining how the organization will ‘implement’ the strategies and recommendations outlined in the Catalyzing Innovation Report. It identifies the specific action items that MTC will lead in implementing for that fiscal year, and those for which we will provide support This plan takes into account the organization’s existing resources, capacity, and the alignment of action items with its mission.

MTC’s growth and success in recent years can be attributed to our commitment to a well-defined strategy. This strategy enables us to remain laser-focused on implementing the recommendations outlined in the Catalyzing Innovation report, while also empowering us to prioritize opportunities that align directly with our goals. By effectively deprioritizing opportunities that do not align with our strategy, we ensure maximum efficiency and effectiveness in achieving our objectives.

MTC owes its present success to the support of numerous stakeholders throughout the state, encompassing, but not limited to:

• A total of nearly 500 individuals took part in our statewide strategic initiative, encompassing various groups such as the steering committee members, participants in the digital survey and regional focus groups, as well as those who had individual meetings with the consultants.
• All individuals who have expressed their support for increasing MTC’s state appropriation in recent years.
• The Governor’s Office for its continued support of our organization and commitment to our mission.
• To all the elected officials who have championed our cause and played a pivotal role in securing increased state appropriations for our endeavors.
• Our dedicated Board of Directors, comprised entirely of passionate volunteers, who donate their time to guarantee that the organization benefits from exceptional leadership and distributes funding in a fair and competitive manner.
• Our staff, who have recently been actively engaging with stakeholders to ensure a strong pipeline of candidates are applying to our various programs. Additionally, they are spending considerable time and effort to consistently launch new programs in alignment with the strategies and recommendations outlined in the Catalyzing Innovation Report.

Jack Scatizzi
Executive Director of MTC